Benjamin Deu, MA, LMHC

You were created in the image of God for the purpose of bringing Him glory. Perhaps you are currently in a season in which you do not feel that you are bringing glory to God. Maybe you are even questioning whether you were made in His image. Many people reach a point in their lives when they feel stuck. They want to move forward, but they feel powerless and don’t know where to turn. Using biblical principles, warmth, and patience, I will work with you to seek lasting, positive change that will help you reflect God’s image and bring Him glory.

How I work with Individuals:

I’m here to help you discover why certain emotional and relational struggles keep recurring in your life, and to walk with you toward resolution. Sometimes we aren’t sure why certain things happen in our lives. Learning how to heal emotional wounds, improve communication, and understand continual challenges will lead you to new and better experiences and healthier relationships. I challenge my clients to work hard in sessions, but give them space to work at their own pace. I remain attentive to my clients’ individual needs – some are looking for clear direction, while others need help reflecting on and sorting through past experiences. I cater my approach to each individual’s unique situation and goals, in order to best serve my clients in their point of need.

My areas of expertise include:

Stepping into individual counseling for the first time can be intimidating or frightening. I respect your courage and would be honored to be a part of your growing and healing process. I specialize in helping adults understand themselves at a deeper level and make sense of what is happening in their relationships. Because my approach is relational, our interactions during sessions will be an integral part of this process. My counseling process has helped many of my clients move beyond painful and disappointing experiences. Many work through difficult and confusing feelings about themselves and others – sometimes in areas where they may have felt “stuck” for a long time.

Individual Counseling is about:

Making sense of who you are and why you do the things you do.

Sorting out feelings and learning how to manage them

Learning how to communicate more effectively and freely Letting go of heavy burdens within a safe environment.

Identifying your strengths and committing to employ them more passionately

Discovering God’s purpose for your life and moving forward with renewed passion.

Entering into a supportive process that invites God to mature you.

How I work with Couples:

Couples therapy offers an opportunity to stop and reflect on your life story. This better prepares you for choosing how you want to live with your significant other. Part of my role is to help you see how you interact in relationships so you can be more intentional as you approach relationships in the future. When counseling couples I borrow heavily from the works of Dr. Dan Allender, Dr. David Schnarch (research-oriented sex therapy), Dr. Susan Johnson (Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy) and Dr. John Gottman (Love Lab Research). In addition to exploring the issues that bring you to counseling, we will look at relationships with other significant people in your life. Our work will focus on the ways that you thrive in relationships, as well as areas where you are hindered from reciprocity and enjoyment. I will collaborate with you to call out the truest and strongest areas of your heart and character in the hope of bringing about the most growth.

Marriage and Couples counseling can provide help for problems including:

Relationships are tough. Ask any couple that has been together for longer than 48 hours, and they’ll tell you that all relationships require hard work. We all hit speed bumps and potholes along the road as we navigate the winding terrain of male-female interaction. I take my role as a counselor seriously and want to be actively engaged in helping you create the relationship you desire. Together we’ll devise an action plan so you can be prepared and know what to do when the next rocky patch appears on the horizon.

Couples Counseling is about:

Receiving clear and objective feedback about your relationship from a trained professional

Clarifying why you have breakdowns in your relationship and how to mend them.

Learning how to increase intimacy.

Developing more effective communication skills.

Having a safe place to talk about issues.

Navigating different levels of sexual desire in a monogamous relationship.

Professional Training and Counseling Experience

Benjamin Deu is an entrepreneurial co-founder of Greenlake Counseling, Inc. and Seattle Christian Counseling and a full-time Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Since 2005 he has been in full-time private mental health practices in Bothell, Washington and Seattle-Greenlake. As of the end of 2010 Benjamin has provided over 15,000 counseling sessions working with clients of all ages. He currently prefers working with male and female adults, and couples. Benjamin has a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from the University of Nations in Hawaii and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Mars Hill Graduate School in Washington.

Post-Graduate Experience

Post-graduate, Benjamin worked under the Supervision of Doug Hansen, LCSW who has been an analytic psychotherapist and counselor for 28 years. This clinical supervision significantly informed Benjamin’s work with individual clients. Benjamin has also consulted weekly with a group of five licensed practitioners which has recently begun to focus more intensely on the dynamics of couples therapy and consultation with Dr. David Schnarch and Dr. Dan Allender.

Pre-Graduate Studies and Experience

As part of his master’s program, Benjamin interned at Compass Health, a community mental health agency in Edmonds. During his internship, he counseled children and their parents in both individual and group settings. Before attending graduate school, Benjamin participated in an immersion counseling course in the Netherlands, provided outreach to recovering alcoholics in Germany, and acted as a team captain with the Association for Christian Character Development (ACCD), an international program designed to help people clarify their life’s vision. During his volunteer work with the ACCD, he acted as a team leader helping individuals evaluate and strengthen concepts of promise, commitment, and negotiation within their relationships. In the United States and the Netherlands, Benjamin taught observation, interpretation, and application skills as they pertain to reading and understanding how context influences the meaning of text within the Bible.

Integrating Christian Faith and Psychotherapy

Through a Christian upbringing, Benjamin has found faith to be an integral part of his decision-making, curiosity, and professional growth. He believes strongly in personal choice and feels that a person can redirect their life at any time. Benjamin relies primarily on mental health concepts within clinical settings. However, his diverse training allows clients to bring their faith into the therapeutic relationship, if desired. Benjamin’s colleagues note that he displays unconditional acceptance, energy, and insight to his clients. He helps people recognize that life is a continual balance between stability and growth through connection, hope, and assessment of personal experience.

Life Experience

Benjamin’s experience of overseas studies has helped him to understand how culture and environment impact a person. His dynamic blend of theological studies, mental health training and six years of missionary travel impact his ability to connect with a variety of clients. In addition, his personal experiences of cross-cultural marriage and being a musician, an entrepreneur and business owner allow him to understand the world from numerous angles.

Marriage, Couples, Pre-Marital and Dating

Enhancing intimacy and freedom in dating, pre-marital and marital relationships.
Experience more fully who you are as an individual and grow a loving bond between you and your partner. I help couples discover and enhance the unique gifts that they possess as individuals and as a complement to each other. I draw heavily from my own intercultural marriage and parenting to understand many of the challenges that intimate relationships encounter.

Issues of Sexuality

Experience new found freedom in your body, gender and sexuality.

Work through emotions, fears and compulsions. I help my clients get to the core of what it means to be a sexual being without killing the God-given desires of their heart. Whether you are going through an affair, struggling with lust, wondering what is contributing to your loss of sexual desire, or engaging in compulsive sexual behavior, experience grace on your way to freedom. Discover your true desires for intimacy as well as your longing to be known and accepted.

Anxiety and Panic

Stop anxiety from controlling your life.

Regain a sense of control by confronting your fears in a supportive environment. Learn helpful skills to maintain a more balanced sense of well-being in your day-to-day living.

Emotional Disconnection/Numbness/Depression

Reconnecting with a sense of purpose and passion in life.

Enhance your desire for life, relationships and mobility. Get in touch with what excites you and motivates you while building support by engaging life in fresh new ways.

Addictive Behavior

Regain a sense of inner wholeness.

Reduce your dependency on drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping etc… as coping mechanisms that keep you from experiencing fullness in life. Learn healthy habits to replace harmful patterns in your life and break free from bonds of addiction.

Self-Harming/Pain-seeking

Reduce your attraction to self-harming behavior.

Discover the roots and relational dynamics that contribute to these desires. Sort through what is stirring within you in a safe and confidential environment. Gain the strength to resist these harmful urges and learn ways to cope in a wholesome, life-giving manner.

Grieving Loss

A safe place to come undone and face life’s transitions.

Whether a divorce, miscarriage, or a loss of health, employment or loved one, we work together to create a safe place where you can explore and face the pain and emotions of loss—the struggle of transition and disorientation.

Spiritual Direction

Grapple with the challenges of faith and its impact on your life.

Continue to grow as a spiritual person. Enter into the mystery and tension of being a human being created for perfection yet living in a world where our desires are sometimes left unfulfilled. Are you struggling on the one hand to make sense of the pain in your life and God’s goodness on the other? I desire to come along side you in these struggles, to be with you as wisdom grows through becoming present to the pain and confusion of life.

Life Coaching

Exploring and expanding vision and potential, goal-setting, and developing a passion for life.

Most life coaches focus primarily on the present and the future. I tie this in with the therapeutic discovery of one’s past as a means to understanding and empowering their present and future goals. Time management, prioritizing life goals, simplifying busy schedules, and clarifying vision are some elements of the coaching services that I offer. I have over 3,000 hours of breakthrough/life coaching experience and look forward to assisting you in seeing your life’s calling come to fruition.

Clinical Supervison: Washington State approved supervisor for Graduates and Post-graduates working towards their Washington State Counseling Licenses – 50 minutes.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment Options: I accept cash, checks, Mastercard, Visa, Discover and American Express. A 2.7% swipe fee or 3.5% key in fee will be added for credit card payments in office. I am unable to accept debit cards requiring a numeric password or pin-pad.